The actual data behind the recommendations.
Every pillar article on the archive references testing. Case studies are where you can read that testing in full — hours invested, dollars earned, what worked, what broke, and the moment we decided whether to recommend the method. No hype.
6
Case studies published
462
Days of cumulative testing
$2.6K+
Documented test earnings
100%
Tested by named contributors
Read in full
Every case study, every number
30 Days on Prolific
$87 in 11 hours: the cleanest hourly rate in the survey-app category
S.K.'s 30-day Prolific test, with the actual hours, payouts, and qualification data. The number that makes Prolific the clear category leader and the conditions where that breaks down.
Total payout
$87.30
After Prolific's standard fees
Active hours
11.2
Including time spent qualifying out
Effective rate
$7.79/hr
Top of the survey-platform tier
Qualification rate
82%
Studies started → studies completed
AI-Augmented Editing as a 90-Day Side Hustle
$2,140 in 90 days from cold outreach: the actual numbers
J.R. ran an AI-augmented editing service from scratch — no prior portfolio, no audience — to test whether the recommended weekend-launch playbook holds up. Full breakdown of clients, hours, and revenue.
Total revenue
$2,140
Across 9 client engagements
Cold outreach sent
184 messages
Personalised, not templated
Reply rate
11%
21 replies from 184 messages
Conversion to paid
43%
9 paid clients from 21 replies
Cold-Starting a Faceless Pinterest Account
0 to 47K monthly impressions in 6 months: what worked and what didn't
T.V.'s 6-month build of a new faceless Pinterest account in the soft-living niche. Pin counts, impression curves, save rates, and the moment the algorithm started rewarding consistency.
Monthly impressions
47K
Month 6 measurement
Pins published
412
Across 9 boards
Cumulative saves
1,840
All-time
Outbound clicks
2,310
Cumulative across 6 months
22 Earning Apps in 30 Days
$143 across 22 apps: which ones cleared cashout and which ones quietly trapped earnings
S.K.'s 30-day test of every earning app the apps article covers. The actual hourly rates, the cashout thresholds we hit (and didn't), and the four apps we deleted on day 4.
Total payout
$143.18
Cleared to PayPal or bank
Apps tested
22
All from the published ranking
Apps that cleared cashout
9
Within the 30-day window
Apps deleted by day 4
4
Hourly rate under $1
Notion AI vs ChatGPT: 7-Workflow Head-to-Head
6 weeks of side-by-side testing across the workflows solopreneurs actually run
J.R. ran every key solopreneur workflow on both Notion AI and ChatGPT, with controlled inputs. The workflow-by-workflow verdict, the time-savings math, and the recommendation that surprised us.
Workflows tested
7
Each on both tools, same inputs
Test duration
6 wks
~120 paired runs total
ChatGPT wins
4 of 7
Content quality use cases
Notion AI wins
3 of 7
Database + integration use cases
Cold-Starting a Niche Blog: First 90 Days
What 25 published articles, 8,400 sessions, and $42 of affiliate revenue actually look like
M.A.'s 90-day cold start of a blog in an evergreen niche, with the actual traffic, indexing timeline, and revenue. The honest version of the 'first 90 days of blogging' chart.
Articles published
25
Avg ~2,200 words each
Total sessions (90d)
8,400
Mostly months 2-3
Email subscribers
184
From 8,400 sessions = 2.2%
Affiliate revenue
$42.30
First trickle, on track
What case studies aren't
We don't write success theatre
Most "make money online case studies" exist to convince you the writer earned $10,000/month from a method, then sell you a course about it. Our case studies are operational. They show what was tested, the actual data, and the conditions where it worked or didn't. Some methods we test produce mediocre results — those still get published, because reading what didn't work is more useful than reading another success post.
For the protocols behind how we run these tests, see our full methodology.